Frequently Asked Compost Questions
Answers for composting with Bioverter
Bioverter is a groundbreaking self-contained compost bin with many standout features. It:
- Self-aerates, eliminating the need to mix or turn wastes by hand.
- Provides a controlled environment for fast and consistent composting.
- Captures every recycled element to get the most out of your waste.
- Gathers fresh compost and juice in different collectors for easy removal.
Its science-based design sets it apart from traditional compost bins and tumblers. It achieves:
- Self-aerated composting untroubled by odours or pests.
- Faster, hot temperature composting inside a shell made out of durable insulation material.
- A soggy waste solution that turns excess water into a novel bonus product - compost juice.
- Separate removal of fresh compost and juice after Bioverter has broken down your waste.
In contrast, traditional compost bins and tumblers require regular aeration by mixing for composting to succeed. However, mixing makes it hard to judge when the jumbled wastes have fully broken down into compost. Compost removal is also difficult, needing digging or extraction through a hatch.
Bioverter's innovations make home composting reliable and a simple, hassle-free experience.
The traditional way to compost is more difficult than it needs to be. The downsides of traditional systems (compost bins, tumblers and worm farms) include:
- Frequent manual mixing.
- Stalled composting due to dryness.
- Stinky, soggy compost.
- Smells that draw rats and other pests.
- Slow composting due to cold compost temperatures.
- Uncertainty about when compost is ready for removal.
Adding kitchen scraps can worsen composting problems if the amount and type of scraps aren’t limited in your typical compost bin or tumbler.
Developed with science and a focus on convenience, Bioverter takes away the hard work aerating the waste by mixing and removing compost by digging.
Whether you’re a beginner or experienced in composting, you don’t have to worry about bad smelling compost. Its bespoke aeration system keeps up the air supply without mixing and prevents bad smells caused by low oxygen.
Bioverter uniquely handles kitchen waste as its main input, and is perfect for recycling your everyday kitchen waste into high quality compost.
Bioverter is designed to make composting effortless and convenient, helping you recycle organic waste into compost at home.
Unlike traditional compost bins and tumblers which depend on regular manual mixing to make decent compost, Bioverter removes the tiring work of mixing as a composting requirement through science and good design.
It is a closed unit, compact in size, and capably handles everyday kitchen scraps as your regular waste input.
Positioning the slimline outdoor unit within reach of your kitchen will also make depositing scraps easier.
Simply lift the lid to feed Bioverter. Close the lid and wastes transform into compost as they descend through the unit. Your rewards gather in slide out collectors at the base for easy retrieval.
Bioverter can comfortably recycle the everyday food waste generated by a household of up to 4.
As an example, a household of 4 has consistently emptied an 8L kitchen caddy two to three times every week for years without overfilling. You can put kitchen waste in Bioverter every day or a few days apart by emptying your kitchen caddy.
You start with a one-off startup composting period to get a new Bioverter prepared for routine compost production.
A new Bioverter is set up for startup composting as part of its straightforward assembly process - instructions are provided and no tools are required.
Startup composting is necessary for setting up the entire range of natural microbes which work together to transform waste continuously into compost.
Startup takes 3 months typically. During this period, you retain all solid matter until the earliest waste inputs have transformed into dark compost that’s ready to be taken out.
However, about a fortnight after startup and well before removing your first lot of compost, you can begin to collect compost juice - a new and highly rewarding output from Bioverter.
With regular waste additions after the startup period, Bioverter will make compost that can be collected routinely.
Compost juice is a remarkable product that Bioverter creates uniquely from kitchen scraps with high water content such as fruits and vegetables. It can’t be created with traditional compost systems.
A lot of water is released during the conversion of kitchen scraps into compost. As the water descends through Bioverter, it is enriched with goodness such as soil probiotics, soluble nutrients and humus substances. It ends up as dark compost juice in the bottom collection tray.
It is simple to harvest and use compost juice straight away. Pull out the collector, pour the juice into a watering can, add water to dilute it, and then apply the diluted compost juice to your garden soil or houseplants.
Compost juice allows you to spread compost goodness easily and further - a bonus Bioverter benefit.
A typical household of 4 can feed Bioverter daily, or two or more times a week with a kitchen caddy. Feeding with this frequency results in harvests of compost juice weekly and fresh compost monthly. Your outputs will vary with how much and how often your Bioverter is fed.
A full juice tray will fill a third of a 9L watering can, and a full compost basket will half fill a 200mm plant pot.
Pull out the bottom tray to see the compost juice level, and jiggle the compost collection basket to gauge the amount in it. (A lightly filled basket is easy to move.)
Homemade compost and juice are abundant with soil probiotics, which are micro-organisms that help make nutrients in soil more available to plants and suppress disease. Soil is healthy if rich in these beneficial microbes. Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy plants.
Microbial life is diminished in bought compost due to the delay between manufacture and being used.
In addition, the nutritional quality of bought compost will vary depending on the type of raw material used in commercial manufacturing. Using Bioverter to recycle your kitchen waste ensures all nutrients are recovered as compost juice and homemade compost.
Fresh compost is what you get straight out of any compost system. In Bioverter, it gathers in a pull-out collector at the base.
It has limited applications in the garden because it wants to mature, evolving to its final stable form.
Fresh compost is analogous to unripe fruit. Both get much better when left to mature or ripen.
Compost maturation is a gradual natural process, and you can mature fresh compost by leaving it to rest using one of our three simple resting methods. When ready, mature compost looks and feels like dark crumbly soil.
Mature (rested) compost can be mixed with whatever soil is in your garden or planter, to create a nourished and improved medium for growing healthy plants.
It is tempting to harvest and use freshly made compost immediately, but be mindful of the potential negative effect on plants.
Fresh compost is in its immature state. If buried, it can pull nitrogen and oxygen away from plants. Therefore, if you’d like to use compost in a raw state, keep it away from roots to avoid inhibiting plant growth or killing young plants.
We recommend, if possible, to go for the safe and better option. Leave fresh compost to rest in a sheltered spot, allowing it to mature into its crumbly soil-like form. You end up with the best organic soil improver for whatever soil you have.
Our experience has shown that you can easily enrich potting mix with compost in a garden pot if you don’t have a garden bed.
In essence, you leave freshly made compost to rest as a layer sandwiched between potting mix. After collecting the next lot of fresh compost, layer it on top and cover with potting mix. Keep going until you fill the pot, then wait for the last lot of fresh compost to mature.
The pot enrichment method is discussed further here. You can get better results with nutritious compost made from nutrient-rich kitchen scraps, especially by using Bioverter to recycle scraps as your main waste.
The red and tiger wrigglers used in worms farms thrive when provided with constant moist conditions and mild temperatures. However, these worms slow down composting in Bioverter and won’t survive the high temperatures that speed up the transformation of wastes into compost.
Free-range garden earthworms are a fantastic option to produce nutritious worm casts and feed your plants. With their deep-burrowing habits, they naturally loosen the soil and create a healthier environment for plants.
These earthworms can deliver the benefits of Bioverter into your garden. Bioverter’s freshly made compost is an excellent nutrient-rich earthworm feed, and compost-fed earthworms take care of garden soil through their natural underground activities.
Green garden waste can provide the carbon that balances the excess of nitrogen in food scraps. A balance in carbon and nitrogen is a basic composting requirement.
Place your green garden waste as a thin layer on top of everyday kitchen scraps in Bioverter. Use leafy parts only (no woody bits, as the time spent in Bioverter isn’t long enough to break it down).
Green waste can be used with, or instead of, other familiar carbon waste such as:
- Fallen autumn leaves: Double mow the leaves and store them dry as your carbon provider. Sprinkle a little on your scraps; these leaves are richer in carbon than fresh leaves.
- Used paper towels: Avoid scrunching them. Discard those contaminated with cleaning or other chemicals.
- Fruit scraps and starchy food: Fruits, bread, pizza crust, pasta, noodles, rice and potato are examples of food scraps rich in carbon. If already in your waste mixture, then a carbon-rich top layer isn’t required.
Treat carbon waste as a top-up to get the all-important nutritional balance when composting food scraps in Bioverter. In contrast, traditional compost bins and tumblers require carbon waste to be twice the amount of nitrogen waste.
Bioverter is compact in size making it a perfect sustainability tool for households with limited space, while also producing regular, high quality output for keen gardeners.
The unit is 90cm tall with a square 38cm x 38cm base - almost as tall as a small wheelie bin, but with a smaller base.
With a 64 litre capacity, Bioverter capably handles regular inputs of everyday kitchen waste, along with flowers and tip pruning. You can feed it daily, or several times a week using a kitchen caddy. Due to the design being engineered for fast composting and the ability to self-empty, Bioverter’s output is comparable to larger and bulkier traditional compost bins.
Place Bioverter on a firm level surface. It is stable on a flat concrete, tile or brick surface. Use a paver or tile (40x40 cm or larger) instead of standing it on grass.
We recommend positioning Bioverter for easy access from your kitchen, preferably away from the midday and early afternoon sun in summer. Placing it under cover gives you dry access on wet days.
Designed for outdoor use, Bioverter doesn't have specific siting requirements. Styled by an accomplished industrial designer, it fits nicely near an exit from the kitchen or in a tight space like a balcony or confined patio.
Bioverter is neatly packaged for handling and shipping. Its lower section is pre-assembled, and comes with the wall panels of its upper section stacked on top. Join these wall panels together, then attach the upper to its lower section to complete your quick assembly of Bioverter.
Clear instructions are provided and no tools are required. A visual guide is also available.
After placing Bioverter where you want, you can begin to put in kitchen waste and get Bioverter started.
Bioverter is made out of a food safe plastic, polypropylene. The base uses the same type found in ice cream and yoghurt containers. A foam variant is used to insulate its upper portion.
Bioverter's insulation enables faster composting at higher inside temperatures while keeping its outside surfaces cool to touch.
Polypropylene is also durable and recyclable. Aligned with our sustainability vision, we use 1kg of recycled material in each Bioverter.
The whole unit is UV protected for outdoor use.
Bioverter is wholly designed and manufactured in Australia. From our founder’s extensive research and development in Melbourne, to collaborating with a skillful industrial designer who thoughtfully focused on its quality, durability, usability and aesthetics, then working with an Australian-owned manufacturer to develop the necessary tools for producing Bioverter to specifications.
Every stage of Bioverter’s development has been focused on quality, ethics and using Australian expertise.